Sean McCarthy: Our Civic Duty

At the Bartlett annual school budget hearing, we went over the New Hampshire SASS test results. This test is given to third- through eighth-graders and measures how well a student has mastered the skills in each subject area for their grade level. In our school, only 47 percent of the kids are proficient at grade level in English language arts, and 28 percent are proficient at grade level in math. With just over 100 students in grades 3-8, that means over 50 students are not proficient at grade level in English and over 70 students are not proficient at grade level in math. The SASS test scores for the Bartlett school have been consistently at these levels for at least four years. We are not providing an adequate education for the children in our town.

These test scores are not the fault of the students, the support staff or the teachers. The Bartlett school has not been fully staffed for over five years. We have refused to offer enough pay to attract and retain the number of staff and teachers we need to teach the students the skills they need to know for the grade they are in. These kids need more support staff and teachers so they can get the individual attention they need to catch up and perform at grade level.